The bj-league's alternating quarter import quota rule -- two foreigners are allowed on the court per team in the first and third quarters and three apiece in the second and fourth quarters and overtime -- is designed to give Japanese more playing time, more opportunities on the court. While it sounds good in theory to some, the logistics of forcing coaches to make substitutions every game based on a quota instead of the actual flow of the game and matchups has not been good for the game.In fact, it has discouraged a number of quality foreign players that I've spoken to, many of whom have shopped their services to other leagues overseas.

In Japan, the overwhelming majority of Japanese players are point guards and shooting guards and some small forwards, and that limits the opportunities for import players from those positions to get playing time. Forget for a moment the unwritten rule of coaching -- put the most competitive team on the floor possible -- and recognize the negative impact the import quota rule has had.

Not only is the bj-league, which has expanded way to quickly (from six teams in 2005 to 21 for this season) guaranteeing that a smaller range of import players will be on the floor for large chunks of all games, this rule has also affected the mind-set of general managers and team presidents, who are signing fewer and fewer foreign guards as well.

Japan has failed to qualify for the Olympics since 1976 in men's basketball and has struggled mightily in Asian and international competitions, too. One of the biggest factors for these major setbacks is this: All Japanese men's hoops teams (and this extends to the NBL, which has also adopted a lousy alternating quarter import quota rule, and the NBDL, the revamped JBL2) need more competition against quality foreigners, as many as possible as often as possible. Quality competition - not quotas - helps elevate a player's and a team's level.

One of the top foreign guards to play in the bj-league over the past five years, a guy who excelled in high-pressure games and a man who has played for a championship team, dished out this insight the other day:

"I understand they want to get the Japanese guys more playing time seeing as how most of the Japanese players are guards. I hate it though. I played only two quarters all season last season."That rule hurts our value to a team. Alternating is bad....keeping it at one number throughout the game is a much better solution."The player, who requested anonymity, said he is looking at other leagues to play in for the 2013-14 season. Blame it primarily on this rule, which seems destined to be in place for years to come, but should never have been OK'd in the first place.

A recent column by Jochen Legewie, president of a German communications consultancy company, pointed out that foreign direct investment in Japan "stands at a meager 4 percent."Those numbers, published in The Japan Times, also seem to accurately reflect the approach the bj-league is taking when it comes to its own business plan -- that is, investment must only come from Japanese.

None of the current 21 teams are owned or operated by foreigners or foreign companies, and even partial ownership by a foreign group doesn't appear likely anytime soon.The possibility of so-called outside help seems like the last thing on the minds of team and league executives, especially after short stints in ownership by the late Vince Rawl for the Oita HeatDevils and Michael Lerch for the now-defunct Tokyo Apache.

Neither man made a long-term commitment. That was what was needed for both teams.

(Of course, reaching out for help and reaching out to present that message would require work, long-term planning and a dose of humility to admit past failures.)

And that places an even greater burden on the many small sponsors that are cobbled together to help each of the teams' budget goals.If the Miyazaki Shining Suns had received an injection of foreign investment, say from a retired NBA player who wanted to own a stake in a team, would the team have exited the bj-league after only its third season?

If a comprehensive plan was hatched to gain more outside investment and partnerships and a number of Fortune 500 companies were contacted, could they be persuaded to play a role in funding teams and the investing in upgraded promotions, marketing, and other vital interests for the league? If so, this could include a fully bilingual league website, which could help create a much wider level of knowledge about the league here and abroad.

There are a lot of missed opportunities for the league, day after day, week after week.

Think the relaunched JBL (National Basketball League) and the bj-league are moving in the right direction?

Think again, one basketball commentator insisted.

The basis of his argument centers around the nonsensical use of alternating quarter import quota rules for both leagues. Instead of coaches doing their job the old-fashioned way -- putting their teams in the best position to win based on matchups, smart strategies and, well, game plans -- they are forced to make in-game adjustments every quarter due to the quota rules. So for half the game, the number of import players will be different because of a rulebook mandate.

It makes no sense.

"Since the NBL is going to an awful 2-1-2-1 import rule, and the bj-league is keeping their awful 2-3-2-3 rule, it's quite obvious that Japan basketball is hopeless and beyond repair," the commentator correctly stated.

The above link may look like pure garble, but in fact it's a translated version of Terry Pluto and Bob Ryan's "Forty-Eight Minutes: A Night in the Life of the NBA."

The coach says this book, published in 1989 and co-authored by a pair of well-regarded NBA writers, will provide great insight for all players -- and, yes, I add, for their coaches, too -- to see just how demanding the pro game really is.

Every pro sports league that 1) is relevant to the masses; and 2) has a realistic chance to make lots of money ought to knowthis: It must have a national TV network contract (including cable or satellite in some cases).

In fact, that has been the case for decades.

So the loss of regularly scheduled game coverage by GAORA and BS Fuji for the 2012-13 bj-league season was a critical blow to the league's credibility. In fact, it may be a turning point in league history.

A few (or many) years from now, it may be the moment in the league's history that came to be known as "the beginning of the end."

Which is why getting a new TV deal ought to be priority No.1 for the league. Instead, as always, expansion seems to be the only real focus of the league's daily operations.

History provides many valuable lessons, including the demise of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which featured the New York Cosmos (starring Pele) during its heyday in the 1970s.

"By 1984, there were just nine NASL teams still active, and with no TV deals to subsidize their financial failings, more and more teams continued to go under," journalist Jack Williams wrote in a recent feature about the relaunched Cosmos for the website Narratively.